Meir Margalit ( he, מאיר מרגלית, b. 3 May 1906, d. 1974) was an Israeli stage actor.

Biography

Margalit was born in 1906 in Ostrołęka, in the Łomża Governorate of

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, then part of in the Russian Empire, and began acting in his home town at the age of 13. In 1922, he

emigrating Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Mandate Palestine within the framework of the Hechalutz movement. He worked initially as a construction worker in Tel Aviv and

Rishon Lezion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

and as an agricultural worker in Hadera. For two and half years he was a pioneer in the Jerusalem section of

Gdud HaAvoda Gdud HaAvoda ( he, גדוד העבודה) was a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine. History Officially known as the Yosef Trumpeldor Labor and Defense Battalion ( he, גדוד העבודה וההגנה על־שם יוסף טרו ...

and worked in a quarry. In 1925, he was chosen and accepted to the drama school of the

Ohel Theater Ohel Theatre (, ''Teat'ron 'Ohel'') was a Hebrew-language theatre company, active between 1925–1969 in Mandate Palestine and Israel . History Ohel (Hebrew for "tent"), originally known as the Workers' Theatre of Palestine, was established in 192 ...

under the guidance of Moshe Halevi and in 1929 he joined the acting cast of the theatre. Margalit excelled in fulfilling comic roles. His most successful role was the title role in ''The Good Soldier Schweik'', the play based on the novel by Jaroslav Hašek and translated into Hebrew by Avigdor Hameiri. The premiere was held on 22 December 1935. This presentation was Ha'ohel's most successful throughout its years of existence and was performed some one thousand and five hundred times. Margalit played the character of Schweik so convincing that Margalit remained identified with the figure of Schweik throughout his acting career. At the end of the Second World War, Margalit made a tour to play before Jewish volunteers from Palestine serving in the British Army in Europe and the Middle East, as well as Holocaust survivors in Italy and illegal immigrants and deportees held by the British in detention camps in Cyprus. Another acclaimed role played by Margalit was in the successful comedy ''"Ha'ketubah"'' by Ephraim Kishon, performed in Ha'ohel in 1961. In the early nineteen sixties, he moved briefly to the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...

, but returned to Ha'ohel, where he continued to act until the theatre closed in 1969. In 1964, Margalit appeared as Noah Simchon in the film ''"Simchon Family"'', based on the popular radio series of the same name, when Samuel Rodensky, hero of the radio series, was abroad at the time. The last performance by Margalit was in the play ''"Where is the Land of Israel?"'' by Ada Ben Nachum, privately produced at the Lilach Theatre in 1972 and 1973.

Awards and honours

* In 1956, Margalit was awarded the Ramchal Prize by Municipality of Tel Aviv. * In 1962, he received the Klausner Prize for Acting. * In 1964, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, in theatre. * A street is named after him in the

Afeka 250px, Aerial photo of Afeka Afeka is a neighborhood in the north of the city of Tel Aviv, located north of the Yarkon river, which was established by the commanders of the Haganah for their families. The neighborhood is bordered in the east by ...

neighborhood of Tel Aviv. In 1976, Margalit's family established, in cooperation with the Jerusalem Theatre Archives and Museum, a fund in the name of Margalit to award prizes in the field of theatre arts.

Biography

Awards and honours

References

See also